This Connecticut Town Is The 'Safest City In America': New Report

CONNECTICUT— The 2023 list of "Safest Cities in America" has named Ridgefield, in Fairfield County, No. 1.

The annual survey by real estate analytics firm Neighborhood Scout determines the 100 safest cities in America with 25,000 or more people, based on the total number of property and violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. The results are based on the latest national data available as of October 2022, representing calendar year 2021.

Ridgefield was one of just five Connecticut municipalities to make the list. Wallingford (No. 53), Cheshire (68), Greenwich (87) and New Milford (92) are also among the Safe 100.

It wasn't a surprise to Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, who noted that his town of 25,011 just squeaked by as a "city," according to Neighborhood Scout's population criteria. The median population of the cities and towns in the top 100 is just 32,000. Carmel, Indiana (No. 60) is the only city with a population above 100,000 to make the cut.

"We've been a quiet town for many, many years," Marconi told Patch. "And the police do an excellent job. Understanding situations and discussing situations and not necessarily taking the hard position, 'You broke the law, that's it, period, you're under arrest."

The chance of someone falling victim to crime in Ridgefield is just 1-in-510, or an overall rate of 1.9 incidents of crime per every 1,000 residents. With only seven violent crimes and 42 property crimes, Ridgefield is considered safer than 92 percent of U.S. cities, according to Neighborhood Scout's analysts.

One quarter of the safest cities are located in Massachusetts, with the majority of those clustered around Boston. In fact, 40 percent of the cities in the ranking are located in the Northeast, according to the FBI data. No cities on the West Coast even made the Top 50.

For Marconi, Ridgefield's secret ingredient to keeping safe is no secret at all:

"Lots of young families, a lot of young people raising their families in a town that appreciates respect."